Gest, a friend of the late star, told BBC Breakfast that the accident had marked a turning point in his life. “When he started his solo career and he left Motown, when he did ‘Off The Wall’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Thriller’, he was in complete control of everything he did. He was in charge,” he said.

“It was that accident, when you get a head concussion it changes your life because you get addicted to drugs, to get rid of all the pain, and that started with filming that commercial.”

Gest also claimed that Jackson had been forced to undergo a medical treatment known as ‘ballooning’, which involves expanding the scalp and is commonly used as a method of surgical hair restoration. He added: “He never got over that. He had ballooning, ballooning is when you expand the scalp, until the day he died he was being ballooned.”

Dr Steven Shafer, an expert who gave evidence at the trial, said that Dr Murray’s negligence in administering Propofol to the star directly led to his death. Dr Murray is not expected to testify during proceedings. The trial continues.